Many methods exist that mechanically support a superconducting cable that is embedded within a softer stabilizing material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,614,301 to Royet and U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,249 to Moisson-Franckhauser are typical of such devices. Both of them disclose a superconducting cable disposed within a tubular stabilizer which, in turn, is encased within an outer sheath. Coolant passes through the center of the tubular stabilizer thereby cooling the stabilizer as well as the embedded superconducting cables. In both cases, the outer sheath, which is constructed of a single unitary material, fully surrounds the stabilizer. The manner of fully enclosing the stabilizer within the unitary outer sheath is both cumbersome and difficult to construct if a tight bond between the two is desired. Also, the conductor will undergo a sharp pressure rise during quenching since it requires leak-tight manifolding.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,783 to Britton et al. discloses a layer of superconducting material attached to a substrate. The superconducting material is subsequently grooved so as to form multiple strips on the substrate. A layer of normal conductor material is then installed around both the superconducting material and the substrate such as by vapor deposition, electroplating or the like. This conductor material is, in turn, enclosed within a thin insulative coating of aluminum oxide. Consequently, in this version, the coolant passes along the outside of the aluminum oxide coating so that any cooling of the embedded superconducting material must first pass through multiple insulative layers before any cooling action reaches the superconducting material. Also, the boundary between each such layer increases the thermal resistance that must be overcome to achieve cooling of the superconducting material.
Other devices of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,123 to Tada et al. which discloses a stabilizer having an open knurled passageway therethrough. This stabilizer is surrounded top and bottom by a pair of reinforcement members and on its sides by a pair of superconducting wires. U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,578 to Suzuki et al. discloses a plurality of superconductor wires encased within solder or the like which bonds to a pure copper housing. This solder also surrounds a reinforcing member and is capped by a lid constructed of a pure aluminum portion and a pure copper portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,187 to Fillunger et al. discloses a superconducting cable which incorporates therein both stabilizing wires and reinforcing wires. This superconducting cable is placed within a groove in one stabilizing member with another stabilizing member placed thereover so as to cover the groove. The covering stabilizing member contains a passageway therein for the passage of a coolant therethrough. These stabilizing members themselves are soldered or brazed together before being fully enclosed within a steel sheath.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide a new design for and a different manner of manufacturing an aluminum stabilized superconductor which is supported by an aluminum alloy sheath. Another object of this invention is to provide a new design which incorporates an aluminum alloy sheath that is composed of multiple components which are individually attached or secured together so as to provide support to a stabilizer. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new design for such a sheath that does not fully enclose the stabilizer but instead only partially surrounds the stabilizer thereby permitting one side of the stabilizer to be directly exposed to the coolant for greater cooling of the embedded superconducting material. It is another object of this invention for such coolant to flow outside the stabilizer rather than through a passageway within the stabilizer. Still another object of this invention is to provide a means of physically securing the enclosed stabilizer to the outer sheath, whether this outer sheath is of singular or multi-piece construction. According to another object of the invention, the superconductive filaments are composed of one or more intermetallic A15 compounds such as, for example, Nb.sub.3 Sn, V.sub.3 Ga. or V.sub.3 Si. These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become obvious upon further investigation.